Mind-Blowing Trivia

President George H.W. Bush just passed away, of course. He was born in 1924. President Taft was still alive then and he was born while Martin Van Buren was still alive; Van Buren was the 8th President. Van Buren was born BEFORE George Washington became President. I also think that Van Buren was the first President born a US citizen, as opposed to being born a British citizen. In a way, therefore, we can trace the entire history of the US Presidency through just four people. This is not an old country.

More on that topic…John Tyler was the 10th President of the United States (1841-1845) and died during the Civil War. I am 99% sure that two of his grandsons are still alive! Tyler had 15 children with two wives. One of those children, Lyon Gardner Tyler, was born when John Tyler was 63 years old. Two of Lyon’s sons, born when he was 71 and 74, are the grandchildren of President Tyler that I am almost positive are still alive.

Some more…Henry Stimson was a long-time public servant. Even though he was a Republican FDR appointed him as Secretary of War, what the position was called before it was called Secretary of Defense. Stimson was intimately involved with the Manhattan Project, the development of the atomic bomb. Stimson had a great-grandmother who used to tell him about her visits with George Washington! Someone involved with the development of the A-Bomb was two “degrees of separation” from George Washington. This is not an old country.